Milestone victory at Newington High School special for hockey coach Dave Harackiewicz

Dave Harackiewicz of Ludlow remembers all those winter mornings in the 1960s when his father would get him to Smead Arena in Blunt Park for junior hockey practice at 6 a.m.

“It all started for me there when I was 6 years old. I’ll never forget what my parents (Vin and Betty) did to help me stay with hockey,” he said.

So it was that he had tears in his eyes when his Newington (Conn.) High School team defeated Enfield 3-0 for the 200th victory of his coaching career. His father was in the stands, reveling in the spectacle.

“Having him there made it extra special. And getting it against a really good team like Enfield added to the occasion,” Dave said.

“We play in Division III. Enfield is a Division II team that made it to the state final last year. But from the first drop of the puck, I could see that my kids weren’t going to be denied,” he said.

After the game, with his dad joining the locker-room scene, Coach Dave received the game puck and a plaque which had been designed by his players.

“It has an inscription about me winning 200, a picture of the team, and they all autographed it,” he said.

His coaching career record is 206-150-14 for 13 seasons at Newington. His current team stands 13-3 and is likely tourney-bound.

Harackiewicz, 49, earned a doctorate in exercise science from Springfield College in 1992. The next year, a phys-ed job opened up at Central Connecticut University in New Britain, and he landed it. He’s now chair of the Department of Physical Education and Exercise Science.

On the hockey trail, he has made many stops – four years as a player at the University of Dayton followed by coaching stints at Bowling Green and Cornell (women’s team).

Harackiewicz also is deeply involved in the U.S. Amputee Hockey Association. He’s now in his sixth year as assistant to head coach Bret Chernick, whose Team USA will play in the world tournament April 20-25 in Montreal. Prior to that, the players will visit Walter Reed Hospital and the White House, where they will meet President Obama.

THAT’S THE TICKET: A precious bit of baseball memorabilia has come our way, courtesy of Dr. Francis M. Baker, a Holyoke podiatrist. He sent a lower-grandstand ticket stub from a doubleheader he attended at Yankee Stadium Sept. 17, 1944.

The occasion was a trip to New York for the three division champions of the Springfield Daily News Sandlot Tournament. His team, the Holyoke Hitless Wonders, won the 10-12 crown.

The sandlotters saw the Yankees get swept 2-1 and 4-1 by the Philadelphia A’s in a doubleheader played in four hours and five minutes.